Have you booked a holiday to Spain and want to impress the locals with your Spanish speaking skills…only YOU don’t speak Spanish or YOU speak very little!
Well you’ve come to the right place for some powerful pointers but we have just 30 minutes as promised so let’s crack on.
As Spanish is sounded phonetically reading new words from your dictionary or phrase book will be relatively easy.
So by finding you a few choice expressions that can be easily remembered you’ll be well on your way. With so much on offer from sightseeing to eating and drinking it’s difficult to know where to start.
I’m going to assume on your behalf that you’ll want a car, try some tapas and order some drinks and maybe find out from the Spanish tourist board where you can take part in a typical Spanish event like a fiesta or a Spanish football match or even a bull fight.
You have so many choices when it comes to asking for what you want, so I’m going to narrow it down to the two most commonly used.
‘Quiero‘ means I want. You can use this or ‘Dame‘ (Dah-meh) to ask for something from el supermercado or for bebidas en el bar.
1. Dos kilos de merluza – Give me two kilos of merluza.
2. Dame dos cervezas y un zumo de naranja – I’ll have two beers and an orange juice.
3. Quiero alquilar un coche – I want to hire a car.
4. Quiero resevar una mesa para cinco personas – I want to book a table for five people.
5. Dame una racion de tapas - I’ll have a portion of tapas.
6. Quiero hablar con el gerente – I want to speak to the manager.
Now you can get what you want you may want to express what you would prefer to do. This can come in really handy if you’re travelling with friends or visiting Spanish amigos and need to negotiate some time alone or let them know what’s on your mind.
‘Prefiero’ means I prefer while ‘Preferiria’ means I would prefer or I’d rather.
1. Prefiero comer afuera – I prefer to eat outside.
2. Prefiero tomar el autobus que andar -I prefer to go by bus than walk.
3. Preferiria pasar toda la semana en Mijas pueblo – I’d rather spend all week in Mijas. (Oh ..who wouldn’t? It’s a pretty white washed village with splendid views right down to the coast)
La oficina de turismo will be the place for all the information you need about what’s on, when and where. With Mijas in mind you can follow them on Twitter @mijasguide and keep up to the minute with their news.
It makes me feel close to Spain and anything that does that I embrace. If you love Twitter as I do you can follow me too @lazy_spanish.
Spanish locals will be so please to hear you try your hand so go on and try a few rehearsed phrases. It doesn’t really matter if you don’t actually want any of the following but use theses phrases to start a conversation.
Sometimes that can be the hardest part of getting a short conversation going. Where do you start?
One day while sitting outside a bar in Albuñol I could hear lots of friendly chatter and celebration in the distance. A crowd of excited enthusiasts were coming through the street slapping each other on the back. So I asked, ‘
¿Hay un partido de futbol?-Is there a football match?
The answer was’ no’… and to be honest I didn’t think so either but it gave me a chance to say something that started a friendly but brief chat. We all have to start somewhere don’t we? Look at how ‘Hay’ can be used below and adapt it to your situation.
1. ¿Hay una oficina de turismo por aqui?- Is there a tourist office around here?
2. ¿Hay descuentos para grupos?- Are there any group discounts?
3. ¿Hay algo qué ver esta noche?- Is there anything to see tonight?
4. ¿Hay un correo cerca de aqui?- Is there a post office close by?
You can see that ‘Hay’ is not only easy to remember but also muy útil- very useful! You can use it to ask where something is or whether or not something is available.
I asked in my local supermercado
‘¿Hola, hay alioli? and the reply was ‘Alioli? No, no hay’.
Let’s hope that when you ask they do have alioli because it is the most delicious garlic mayonnaise you will ever taste.. of that I can guarantee!
This is just a short blogpost with a few easy to remember tips to help you on your way. Practice them so that YOU don’t forget them!
Not overcomplicating conversing in Spanish can be easier than you think, not least because from my experience the Spanish just love you to have a go.
I’d love to hear your funny stories of travelling through Spain, I’ll take a bet that you have plenty.
It’s so easy to make a mistake by using a simlilar word or miss-pronouncing the right one. Maybe you have muddled your words as I have many times or even created a ‘spanglish’ word in haste….yep I’ve done that too!
Happy Learning,
Sharon
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